#Blog August 2017

Its been a little while since I last written a blog post, so here goes….. #Blog August 2017

Its been a busy few months for me and the team at Starlight Party, we are getting more bookings than ever before and it’s fantastic. The reviews and feedback is great so we are obviously getting something right.

A couple of months ago, I decided to pack in the day job and try and make a living from Starlight Party, I know it was a big risk and still is. Losing a massive income and surviving is no easy feat and I know its going to be hard over the next year but sometimes in life you have to just grab it by the horns and see what will happen. The plus side of being full time is that I can now answer the phone from 8am and answer it through the day therefor getting more bookings. I can also now work week days and Fridays without having to put in annual leave at work. Ohh I almost forgot I am now an official TV/Film Extra, yes I am signed up with a few agencies and am already getting work. Keep an eye out on next years Vera, I have a few background bits on there. I won’t lie, I could do with more mid week work, but for the moment I am winning..

Let’s party…

We are in the middle of wedding season, to be honest this year we haven’t done as many weddings as I would have liked, our 2018 calendar is filling up nice. I think I marketed it all wrong last year for this year. The weddings I have done have been fantastic and I have found a new favourite wedding venue. The Black Swan Marquee in Beamish is a fantastic wedding venue, the marquee is more of a hall rather that than a tent. It has solid sides, proper bar and fully heated. The setup is pretty easy and has plenty of power points which is always a bonus for us DJ’s.

Our 2017 Christening Package has been booked loads this year and the feedback has been awesome, we bring a pretty setup which looks the part in any venue. We throw in our kids party package and it’s the complete Christening package. We only charge £150 for 3 hours.

Walk Out / Entrance ways…

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Our fight show packages are proving more and more popular and we seem to be getting more and more work across the region working for different fight promotions, including Reps Gym, Dual and Contender K1, Cobra Boxing, ICE MMA, BBAD, Bang Bang Promotions and many more. We offer a great setup, walkway, DJ and PA system for fight shows from as little as £250! Or for £350 we can offer a large projection screen for behind the walkout area.

I love doing the fight shows, they are hard work as fighters are not always prepared when it comes to choice of music, I get disc’s, pens and bits of paper with a song choice on. The hardest part is that a lot of the song choices are not main stream and can be hard to source. But in most cases I get the best seat in the house and get to see the action close up.

WOW! We are now fully booked from 1st October to the 18th October, last years Halloween parties were really successful and we had some great fun running these parties. Our fantastic setup looks amazing and really does have the wow factor.

The Christmas party bookings are starting to come in now and I am hoping we will be fully booked by November, so if youre after a Christmas Party, don’t forget there ain’t no party like a starlight Party.

Cheap DJ’s are not always the best option.

I know I bang on about this a lot but it does affect my business and one I love.

I have seen a few photo’s this month of DJ’s setups and its horrified me. A table, with a laptop on, two really cheap speakers, a couple of $10 lights and cables running everywhere. One photo the DJ is sat there with a pint on the table, next to his pack of tabs, whilst playing on his phone. Another photo shows a DJ again with a table, a couple of cheap lights and 2 home stereo speakers on the table!

I understand not everyone who is booking a DJ has a large budget, but what do you think your guests think when they walk into the venue and see that? Real companies like Starlight Party have real overheads, we don’t claim benefits and avoid paying tax. Here is a list of what it costs to be a real mobile DJ…

PA System – Our PA System consists of Professional Speaker, Mixer, DJ Controller, Top of the range microphones and professional grade cables to ensure the sound can sound nice and clear.

Lighting – We have a massive array of lighting, different lighting for different venue, and different parties

Music – We purchased all of our music, its either purchased on CD or via specialist DJ music subscriptions. Over 15,000 songs from the 1950’s right up to songs that have not been released yet.

Laptops – We have 2 full spec laptops running legally obtained Virtual DJ software and also DMX software to control lighting. I also have an iPad so I can remotely control music, which is ideal when it comes to kids parties.

Stands and Frames – I have different stands and frames for every type of disco, show or required setup.

Cables – I have several flight cased full of cables, probably to a value of around £1000

Transport – without a large reliable vehicle we couldn’t operate, so all the associated costs include, fuel, service, insurance, maintenance, MOT and road tax.

Time – Managing a business takes a lot of time, yes when your legally self employed youre never off duty. I take calls, answer emails from as early as 7am right up to 2am! I do my own accounts and manage my own websites.

I hope this shows that its not just about playing a bit of music and some flashing lights.

So I will leave it there.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to working with again soon..

Gary

There Ain't No Party Like a Starlight Party

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Latest Reviews

Brilliant night with a great mix of music which we needed for an age mix from 18 up to 60! Everyone had a fab night thanks a lot

Lauren Cassells2/27/2018

Absolutely brilliant, great selection of songs lovely set up and very friendly. Gary was brilliant with the kids and they loved the magic trick and my friends little girl was so happy with the cake she got to keep. 100 percent recommend and will book again in the future.

Emma Lilley2/27/2018

Thank you so much for today Gary. Archie and his friends have had a fab afternoon at his 8th birthday party. I would highly recommend, great dj, great with the kids and lots of fun to keep all entertained. Thank you so much �

Ashley Dean Bough Wright2/24/2018

My daughter loved her 6th birthday party today, as did all of her friends. Thank you so much for keeping them entertained (and taking the pressure off us!) I will definitely recommend you to friends and family without hesitation.

Karen Gardner2/11/2018

Fantastic!!
Booked for our wedding and didn't disappoint. Played all the songs we wanted and worked well with our sax player.
Even let me have a bit of a sing lol
Couldn't recommend anymore
Thank you!!x

Emma Martin2/11/2018

Gary was excellent! We booked him for my sons 5th birthday party, the kids were amazed at the birthday cake trick and loved all of the different party games! Would highly recommend to everyone!